Friday, January 30, 2009

Mushroom Stew with Polenta Cakes

It’s been a while since I actually had time to cook something new and “interesting” from scratch. I was getting antsy about it, so even though I would much rather have vegged on the sofa on Sunday, I actually got up the energy to run out for mushrooms and whip up the following recipe. I adapted it from the original here. My main change was using red wine instead of whites—I thought it would go nicely with the earthiness of the mushrooms and rosemary. I took a picture of the dish, but alas, it was one of those times when the finished product tastes much better than it looks. Browns just don’t make for good food photos (unless it’s chocolate cake)!

Mushroom Stew with Polenta Cakes
1 pound sliced and cleaned mushroom combination, such as white mushrooms, shiitake, portobello, and/or oyster
3 large garlic cloves, or 1 tablespoon pre-minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried, crumbled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup onion slices
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup drained diced canned tomatoes
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4-1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, depending on taste
Parmesan cheese

1. If using portobello mushrooms, cut the slices in half. If using whole garlic, finely chop. Mince enough fresh rosemary to measure 1 tablespoon.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, until the onions are softened. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
3. Add the balsamic vinegar and wine and cook, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add the drained tomatoes, bay leaf and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well to combine, cover, lower the heat to maintain a medium simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
4. Stir in parsley just before serving. Spoon over polenta cakes* and sprinkle with parmesan.

*I used a tube of ready-made polenta, cut into 1/2-inch slices and baked until slightly crispy.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

The Vegan’s Hundred

In the spirit of starting with something meat-filled and icky and making it suitable for civilized consumption, the BitterSweet blog took the idea of an “Omnivore’s Hundred” and veganized it, into a list of 100 foods that every vegan should try at least once in his or her lifetime—The Vegan’s Hundred.

I love lists like this, so here it is, complete with the instructions and my results. Several of the items, like fondue and baklava, I’ve had in vegetarian versions but not vegan, so I didn’t “bold” those. Next I’m going to start daydreaming about foods that ought to be on the list but aren’t - for example, I’ve always wanted to try fermented tofu, but the opportunity just hasn’t come up….

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Post a comment here once you’ve finished and link your post back to this one.
5) Pass it on!

1. Natto
2. Green Smoothie
3. Tofu Scramble
4. Haggis (two kinds so far—one from a can, last Sunday – Burns Night – it was homemade.)
5. Mangosteen
6. Creme brulee
7. Fondue
8. Marmite/Vegemite
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Nachos
12. Authentic soba noodles
13. PB&J sandwich (jelly, bleh - too sweet. But I recommend PB & Pickles, and PB & veggie bacon, PB & grated carrots, PB & apples, etc….)
14. Aloo gobi
15. Taco from a street cart
16. Boba Tea
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Gyoza
20. Vanilla ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Ceviche
24. Rice and beans
25. Knish
26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Caviar (ah, Cavi*art! It’s available by mail, along with the canned haggis mentioned earlier, and the Scheese mentioned later, from Food Fight Grocery.)
29. Baklava
30. Pate
31. Wasabi peas
32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Mango lassi
34. Sauerkraut (can I give myself extra points for making it from scratch, with fresh cabbage and salt?)
35. Root beer float (Roots are for trees, not for beer.)
36. Mulled cider
37. Scones with buttery spread and jam
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Fast food french fries
41. Raw Brownies
42. Fresh Garbanzo Beans
43. Dahl
44. Homemade Soymilk
45. Wine from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Stroopwafle
47. Samosas
48. Vegetable Sushi
49. Glazed doughnut (if only Krispy Kreme’s were vegan, what a wonderful world it would be.)
50. Seaweed
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Tofurkey
54. Sheese
55. Cotton candy
56. Gnocchi
57. Piña colada
58. Birch beer
59. Scrapple
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Soy curls
63. Chickpea cutlets
64. Curry
65. Durian (I’m obsessed with durian, but haven’t eaten it!)
66. Homemade Sausages
67. Churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake
68. Smoked tofu
69. Fried plantain
70. Mochi
71. Gazpacho
72. Warm chocolate chip cookies
73. Absinthe (except there was no wormwood in it, alas)
74. Corn on the cob
75. Whipped cream, straight from the can (whipped cream, yes; from the can, no)
76. Pomegranate
77. Fauxstess Cupcake
78. Mashed potatoes with gravy
79. Jerky
80. Croissants
81. French onion soup
82. Savory crepes
83. Tings
84. A meal at Candle 79
85. Moussaka
86. Sprouted grains or seeds
87. Macaroni and “cheese”
88. Flowers
89. Matzoh ball soup
90. White chocolate
91. Seitan
92. Kimchi
93. Butterscotch chips
94. Yellow watermelon
95. Chili with chocolate
96. Bagel and Tofutti
97. Potato milk
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Raw cookie dough (so nice not to have to worry about the raw eggs!)

Thursday, January 22, 2009

More recalls

Some Clif and Luna bars have been recalled by the company because of the fear of being tainted with salmonella from peanut butter. You can read a list of the bars affected on the company’s Web site. Since I always have a couple of these bars in my cupboard, I need to do a check myself!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Good news at the coffee shop

I did a little happy dance this afternoon when I learned that Chelsee’s Coffee Shop & More on Trade Street is adding vegan cookies to its menu.

They’re the perfect treat to go with a cup of fair-trade coffee with soy milk. In addition to being vegan, the cookies from The Alternative Baking Co. in California are made with organic flour and sugar, and non-hydrogenated oils. That’s not to imply that they’re health food - who expects that of a cookie? From the one I tried, I’d say they’re just what a cookie should be - tasty and moist - vegan without compromising flavor or texture.

Flavors include chocolate chip, lemon poppyseed, oatmeal raisin, pumpkin spice and more. The cost is $3. One cookie is plenty big enough for two servings, and that’s how the nutritional information is written. I’ll be back tomorrow….

Monday, January 19, 2009

Humane Society meeting

The Humane Society is holding a grass-roots meeting in Winston-Salem on Jan. 27 to discuss issues affecting animals and how you can help. Find out more here.

Peanut-butter recall

In case you haven’t heard, the government is advising people to stop eating products containing peanut butter because of fears of salmonella. Several products have been recalled, though as now jarred peanut butters appears to be safe. You can keep up with the latest news about it at the FDA Web site.

These alerts are getting to be all-too common. I think the United States is going to have to really start looking at its food-safety procedures, because clearly there are some problems.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Vegan Culinary Experience

I had a treat in my email this morning, an email from The Vegan Culinary Experience, an online magazine devoted to vegan cooking. It contained a few advance recipes from the next issue, which will be about Italian cuisine. Recipes for such dishes as arancine (risotto balls stuffed with seared mushrooms) and insalata d’arance (orange salad with basil) make me want to run home and start cooking.

Even better, each recipe comes with information about how to make low-fat or raw versions, as well as notes about why certain steps are taken, what equipment will be needed, detailed nutritional breakdowns, and more. The magazine similarly offers more than you might expect, with attractive photography, interviews, reviews, and more, in addition to recipes.

Best of all, a subscription to the magazine is free. But if you’re not yet convinced, you can download the current issue - on “The Art of Tea” - without subscribing. It’s definitely worth checking out!

Friday, January 09, 2009

Dissections in school

Those bumper stickers that parents sport on their vehicles—“Proud Parent of an Honor-Roll Student,” “Proud Parent of a Great Kid,” etc.—are pretty ubiquitous, and they don’t tend to register with me very much. But the other day, I got behind a car with a bumper sticker I hadn’t seen before: “Proud Parent of a Kid Who Won’t Dissect.”

After an initial reaction of “Right on!” I started thinking about my own experiences with dissection in school. One of the classes we had to take in middle school, as part of Vocation Education, was Agriculture. As part of the class, we traveled to a local pig farm, where the “highlight” of the trip was watching a pig be castrated. Later that term, the teacher dissected a pregnant cat in front of the class. In both instances, I stayed as far away from the action as I could.

I was in 8th grade at the time, and I don’t think I had even heard of being a vegetarian. I’d certainly never heard of a child being able to refuse to watch or participate in a dissection. I just knew I didn’t like it or want to see it. The cat dissection particularly distressed me, since I adored and had cats (I still do!); the fact that it was a pregnant cat with little fetal kittens inside added to the trauma.

I was next confronted with dissection as a senior in high school. As part of my advanced biology class, we had to dissect a worm, a crayfish and a fetal pig. It certainly wasn’t pleasant, but I did it, because I assumed I had to.

I don’t know how often the choice is put to students these days of whether they can opt out of dissections with no grade repercussions. I assume it probably varies by school district and even by teacher, but it certainly seems more accepted than it did when I was in school.

I’d love to know if any of you readers—or your children—have refused to take part in a dissection. If so, what happened?

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Recommended reading

Among the many thoughtful gifts I received this Christmas was a beautiful book, Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food. Written by Gene Baur, one of the founders of Farm Sanctuary, the book follows three main strands.

One is the story of the founding and growth of Farm Sanctuary, a group that has two shelters (one in New York and one in California) to care for farm animals, such as cows, chickens and pigs, who have been rescued from abusive conditions. It is also politically active in pushing for changes in laws to protect animals from the horrific practices of the industrial-style farming that dominates the U.S.

Another part of the book details just what these practices are and the consequences for the animals. Such information is wrenching to read, but it is imperative for people – whether they choose to eat animal products or not –- know what is happening on “factory farms” and in slaughterhouses. Longtime vegetarians may know much of this already, but sadly I learned several new things as well.

The third and most touching element of the book is the profiles of the animals who live at Farm Sanctuary, and the strong bonds they form with each other. An example is the story of Hope, a lame pig who was sometimes bullied by others, until Johnny arrived. “A younger and newly rescued pig, he quickly became Hope’s loyal companion and protector. At feeding time, Johnny stayed by Hope’s side to make sure she ate without any interference. At night, the pair slept side by side,” Baur writes. “Hope was much older than Johnny, and as the years went by, Hope’s health deteriorated, and she eventually died. Johnny was despondent. Though still young and healthy, he died a couple of weeks later. The only explanation I can come up with is that he died of a broken heart.”

For readers moved to learn more or to take action, the book’s appendix includes extensive resource lists of groups, Web sites, books, magazines, etc.

Readers, was there a certain book that inspired you to consider going vegetarian or vegan?

Monday, January 05, 2009

Vegetarian sausage, part 2

In a followup to my earlier entry about my distress over Boca discontinuing its veggie sausage, I’m here to report on a possible substitute that I tried out this past weekend: Yves’ vegetarian sausage patties.

I’ve liked other Yves products I’ve tried in the past, so I had high hopes for its sausage. I was impressed that it comes packaged in four individual compartments, with two patties per compartment—perfect for when you don’t eat it every day. You can open just one serving, and the rest won’t be exposed.

Alas, that’s where the good news ended. I found the patties to be next-to-inedible. I managed about three bites, then had to toss the rest in the garbage. The taste was at once somehow both bland and unpleasant, and the consistency was off-putting. They were just ... nasty. How disappointing! So the search for a Boca replacement continues….